Are Blockchain-based Systems the Future of Project Management? A Preliminary Exploration

Abstract

Blockchain technologies provide a platform for a new wave of project management systems, providing managers with a range of characteristics, capabilities, and feature sets to aid their praxis as they engage in increasingly complex processes and projects. This paper presents an explorative case-study in which open-ended interviews are conducted with practicing project managers. The interviews are analysed to understand currently deployed project management tools, technologies, and methods and to contextualise how blockchain based systems may allow for improvments. Five constructs emerge: transparency, control, dynamic status updating, incentives, and trust. Feedback suggests blockchain based alternatives could offer significantly better performance within each of these constructs, and thus should be explored as the technological backbone to the next generation of project management systems.